Politics Ain't Beanbag

When Finley Peter Dunne coined that phrase he must have known that individuals like the Clintons would inhabit the world of politics one day. They are perhaps the best practitioners of the no holds barred, no limit politics. This dynamic duo has cultivated an impressive political machine that has left many behind in its destructive path. This battle scarred couple seem to have set their sights on Barack Obama for their next target. After all this is Hillary's turn to be President and Bill's chance for a third term.

It is interesting how this Democrat party family feud has evolved. It appeared as if Hillary would sail through the Democrat nomination process. She had all the name i.d., money, and organization to do just that. Doing so would allow her to avoid attacks from her own side and she could focus herself on simply fending off the Republicans. But Barack Obama threw a wrench into Hillary's machine. After stagnating in the polls, Obama won Iowa and became viable to many voters looking to see if he would be able to be a true counter to Senator Clinton. Mrs. Clinton has had to adopt new strategies to confront Obama, namely bringing in her attack dog Bill.

The former President has been called upon to fight off Obama and do her dirty work. This tag team approach appears to have been somewhat successful. With each attack by Bill, Hillary has been able to rebound and win a contest. First there was New Hampshire and then Nevada where huffed and puffed about Obama and his union supporters inhabiting casinos during the caucus. The role Bill is playing is usually reserved for V.P. candidates, or wives in John Edwards case. Bill softens him up and Hillary finishes him off in the political ring.

Hillary and Barack continued their tit for tat during Monday night's Democratic debate. The mud was flying on both sides as each candidate tried to out slime the other. John Edwards remained relatively clean and at one point had to remind everyone that he was still there. Each of Senator Obama's and Clinton's policies and former statements were fair game. Accuracy did not seem to be a priority as anything that might stick in the minds of the voters was said. The queen of double talk tried to portray Obama's position on the war in Iraq and changing and nebulous. Meanwhile her own position on the war seems to change with the conditions on the ground.

Both Hillary and Barack tried to tag the other with their previous involvements, Hillary and Wal-Mart and Barack working for what Hillary called a "slum landlord business." It did not take long for corporations to come under attack. The "C" word for liberals constitutes a swear word, even worse is being associated with or working for one. It would seem to me that being anti-business is bad business. Liberals like to think of business as some monolithic force destroying the fabric of America.

I am not sure if the debate produced a clear winner. Maybe it was John Edwards who while ignored managed to stay out of the fray. Unfortunately he is neither a woman or black so he can forget about the nomination. Obama and Clinton may be the losers as both continued their war of words. Another loser may be anarchy as this debate was sans rules. The debate got out of hand at many points as Obama and Clinton could not resist going after each other and looking like lions about to descend on their prey. Wolf Blitzer tried to maintain control and keep Obama and Clinton from devouring each other live on stage. You have to give Obama credit he has held up against the double-headed assault of the Clintons so far. But South Carolina is next and Hillary is sure to have Bill on stand-by ready to pounce.

Syndication Weekly

It's the economy stupid. Those were the sentiments of Bill Clinton the first time he ran for President and the title of Phyllis Schafly's latest column. Politics sometimes comes down to a catchphrase and may get you elected. Bill used the feeling about the economy back in '92 to beat Bush the elder out of a second term. Schafly ask whether the same thing might happen this election cycle. After all we have all been hit over the head with economic talk from talking heads that have been predicting disaster on a daily basis. We even have another Clinton running for office, but no Bush although you would not no it from the Democratic candidates campaign rhetoric. Mantra seems to be what we hear from both sides of the aisle and Schafly ask if it will be nothing more then the same. Both sides seem to have their answers that can be pulled out of their pockets are read off at a moment's notice. The column points out that it has been certain U.S. policies that have created much of our current problems. This would include our dealings with immigration which has been minimal or pathetically inept. In Schafly's mind Free Trade has not lived up to its monikor, and the U.S. worker has payed the price. A debate over Free Trade can take place at another time. I agree that many are looking for those who can restore jobs and are looking at the candidates for answers.
http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2008/jan08/08-01-23.html
Courtesy of www.eagleforum.org

Fox News All Stars

The Sunday panel focused on the recent claims of improper use of funds by former New York city mayor Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani denied such impropriety occured in regards to his funding of his security detail when he was mayor. The panel also talked about former President Clinton's statements declaring he never supported the Iraq war, contrary former statements. Finally the panel comments on the elections in Venezuela and Russia. They discuss the leaders of both countries, who have taken more and more control of their countries at the cost of full expression of democracy, in Russia and certainly in Venezuela.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/12/karl_rove_chris_van_hollen_rou.html
Courtesy of www.realclearpolitics.com

The Inevitable Hillary Clinton

I usually find myself flipping around to the many news channels, CNN, Fox News, etc. These shows usually have one or more pundits that are called upon to prognosticate and reveal their wisdom and truth about future political happenings. I do not doubt the sincerity or intelligence of these people, but I think darts thrown at dartboard might be able to come up with the right response with the same degree of success. I figure if those people can do it why not me? For the purpose of this article I will become a pundit and try to forecast the political future.

I mean to focus my prognostication on the Democrats and their choice to run for president. Hillary wins. Yes that is the extent of my psychic abilities. To some it might seem like an easy pick, I would classify it as inevitability. You must understand how that disappoints me on many levels. I see the eventual nomination of Hillary Clinton as a foregone conclusion. There are many reasons for this feeling.

Senator Clinton surely is not going to be changed by the current lot of candidates seeking her party’s nomination. A newbie senator, a one-term, once rejected presidential candidate, an expired Alaskan senator, and a United States representative fighting to win the hearts of out-of-this-world beings does not evoke great excitement. This group as is currently composed on top will hardly rattle the Clinton machine. That machine in and of itself is a reason to bet on Mrs. Clinton’s nomination. The machine is to well oiled and practiced in picking up and chewing out opponents. Add to this a seemingly endless supply of money from contributions, assuming they do not have to be returned. There is still one factor that I have forgotten about, Bill. The former president and hopeful first man is still a beloved commodity around Democrat circles. This has proven useful as his wife advances in her political career, a mutually beneficial relationship that might yield historic returns.

Well I will not have to wait long to see if my prediction comes true. The Iowa caucuses are right around the corner and the Democrat presidential nominee will probably be known soon after. If I am right my career as a pundit will be off to a great start. It might show that Democrat know the difference between a candidate qualified to be president and someone who was simply married to one. One does not qualify the other. There are many are many adjectives I could use to describe Hillary Clinton, for the sake of propriety I will use only one, inevitable.

Story of the Ant and the Grasshopper Old and New

This was sent to me by a relative and I thought I would share it with everyone. It is especially important for all those who are questioning the importance of their vote in 2008. Who you vote for will have a very real effect on your life.

*OLD VERSION*:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!
************************************************************
*MODERN VERSION:*

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients..

The ant loses the case.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grass hopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be very very careful how you vote.

A Hillary by Any Other Name

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about the former first lady. I will admit my thoughts are not positive in nature. I try to not let them seep into a hateful rage and remain grounded in the truth that this is a women with the wrong set of ideas. I think many individuals are thinking about this women especially as she runs for our nation's highest office. But I wonder sometimes what the fate of this women would be if her last name was Smith or Jones? Would we be talking about Hillary Smith as the next President of the United States? I am of the opinion that we would not and there is where I see the real problem.

I suppose by my comments that I imply a certain illegitimacy to Senator Clinton's presidential run. The problem is that without her infamous attachment with her president husband I do not see how politician Hillary emerges to run for chief of the West Wing. Certainly I think most would have to admit this fact and in doing so might have to concede, Hillary Clinton is an artificial candidate created by creators of the Bill Clinton mystique.

I would say that Mrs. Clinton has used this mystique and the presumed glamorous times of the nineties with the Clinton White House occupation in her quest to fulfill her ambitions. Ambitions that have recently come to light in books detailing the Clinton's partnership and alliance to make all of their political dreams come true. It happened for Bill and as his time in the sun set Hillary's was beginning to rise.

She was not content to live out the behind the scenes life of a former first lady but instead to seek out some of the same glory and power her husband enjoyed. So she pursued a Senate seat in New York, a state very accepting of her kind, liberals. She now had the position to cultivate real political experience. She was not long for the Senate and we now have candidate Hillary again, but this time she wants her own keys to the White House. And with her husband's political machine, and deity-like image among Democrats behind her, she has vaulted to position number one for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Hillary finds herself in a top three with a one-term senator and a first-term senator. Not a group with a vast amount of political dirt under the fingernails. No, the real experienced pols have been relegated to the proverbial second-tier status. The Democrats say they want change, maybe shying away from experience is what they mean by that?

Not that I am saying that Washington experience is the be all end all or even preferred in most cases. I just cringe when I hear the pundits and sycophants drool over their top-tier candidates and most notably Mrs. Clinton. All I hear is how experienced she is and how that will be a welcome change from our current president. Well from reading her bio on Wikipedia I have found that before becoming a senator she was a lawyer, served on some corporate board, and was wife to a philandering pervert. That may qualify her for life in Washington D.C. but does that constitute a presidential resume?

I think it is great if some no-name American wants to throw their hat into the ring of politics. It is certainly every citizens right to run for public office. I just have a problem with this one particular politician because of the office she is running for. Seething rage will only get you so far before you have to look at the opposition's ideas. The truth is I believe that the junior senator from New York is wrong on the ideas. I worry that she may get that chance to sit behind the desk in the Oval Office, because at this point in history she just might get that chance. I just hope there are enough worriers out across the country who see the disaster on the horizon. Because that is what I think a Hillary Clinton presidency would be, a disaster. Whether it be a naive approach to foreign policy or an over expansion of government control of our lives, I think selecting such a leader would be a mistake. My point is that I wonder if we would even have these concerns if she was a Hillary by any other name?

The First Hsu to Drop?

Scandals and politics seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly. They have been occurring at all periods of time and we have seen a rash of them in recent years. Some involve sex, some involve bribes and money, and others consist of sex and money. What I am saying is that we should not be surprised when scandals occur and a politician is somehow involved in the story. And certainly when we hear the name of one political family and scandal we should be far from surprised. Of course I am talking about the Clintons. Many volumes of books and articles have been written on the Clinton's exploits over the years. And they contain all the salacious parts of a scandal, namely sex and money. Most of attention had been paid Bill in his early political career and during his time residing in the White House. But Hillary herself was not immune to the scandal scrutiny, the Rose Law firm and Whitewater to name a few. You would think that after there time in the White House, having achieved the power and position that they had so ambitiously sought, that the word scandal would have disassociated itself from them. Well so far it has from the former president but not from his Oval Office seeking wife. Ironically it involves an Asian fundraiser not unlike the ones associated with the ex-President Clinton. His name is Norman Hsu and he has been a very prominent Democratic Party donor. His exploits have been released into the public by the media. The controversy involves bundling of contributions and the Paws, a middle income family living in California, who by accounts have contributed $200,000 to Democratic candidates since 2005. In a bizarre mystery Mr. Hsu was apprehended recently in Colorado after failing to appear in court. The illness he suffered is not known but with the involvement of the Clintons into the story speculations abound. Some of those associated with the Clintons have been known to suddenly die in unusual circumstances amid swirling controversies. This is hardly something that Senator Clinton wants to follow her on the campaign trail but we will have to wait and see if the story gains any traction among the media. Is this the only bump for Mrs. Clinton on her road to the White House, or like her husband is this only the first of many mysteries and controversies to come?